Display holder



1965 H. J. FREDERICKSON 3,214,122

DISPLAY HOLDER Filed June 25, 1964 INVENTOR.

Han 41w c/ fipaof/P/cksa/u W F W United States Patent 3,214,122 DISPLAY HOLDER Howard J. Fredericirson, Cannon Falls, Minn, assignor to Point of Sales Inc., Cannon Falls, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Filed June 25, 1964, Ser. No. 377,952 7 Claims. (Cl. 248-223) This invention relates generally to a display holder assembly, and more particularly to a fastening device which is adapted to be employed in combination with a display holder.

In displaying merchandise, as for example in a freezer case or on shelving islands as are commonly being used in the conventional retail supermarkets, it is frequently found desirable to display point-of-purchase advertising in the form of brochures or the like, or display pricing cards in accordance with the merchandise and adjacent theretov Accordingly, merchandising display areas are normally provided with what is known in the trade as nose molding which comprises strip material having inwardly facing grooved marginal edge portions adapted to retain price markers or other similar indicia therein. Moreover, it is also possible to secure larger devices, such as card holders, merchandise samples or the like to a merchandise display case by securing such devices to a display holder, and then fastening the holder to the nose molding.

It has been found, however, that the merchandise cases of various manufacturers may be provided with somewhat different sizes and configurations of nose moldings. It has therefore become desirable to provide display retainers or holders with adjustable fastening means whereby these fasteners will accommodate and engage any of the various nose moldings and at the same time will permit positional adjustment of the display retainer or holder in order to accommodate the specific requirements of the material being displayed. Obviously, the requirements of the individual displays are many and varied, and hence, any display holder, in order to be universally adaptable, must be capable of being readily modified in order to meet these varying requirements.

In accordance with the present invention, a display holder is provided having a fastening bracket which is adapted to be releasably secured to the nose molding of a display counter, the fastening bracket being adapted to receive a display holding member in substantial locking engagement therewith. The fastening bracket is adapted to be mounted upon a variety of normal nose moldings, and the display retainer is likewise conveniently adapted to be formed to comply with the requirements of the material being displayed.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved display retainer which is adapted to permit releasable engagement of the fastener means to various normal nose moldings of merchandise displays.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved display retainer having a fastener which is adapted to be releasably secured to a display counter nose molding, and a readily deformable material retainer which is adapted to be received in locking engagement with the fastener.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the following specification, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a display counter provided with a pair of display holders prepared in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the fastening device prepared in accordance with the present invention ice and having a display retainer secured thereto, the display retainer being partially broken away;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 2, the fastening device being shown attached to a nose molding; and,

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the fastener and display holder as shown in FIGURE 2.

In accordance with the preferred modification of the present invention, the display holders illustrated in FIG- URE 1, for example, includes identical fasteners, gen erally designated 10 and 10a, together with formable display retainers 11 and 12 each of which is adapted to be received in locking engagement with the respective fasteners 10 and 10a. The generally U shaped channel bracket or fastener 10 includes a base portion 13 and a pair of substantially parallelly disposed elongated leg portions 14 and 15 extending therefrom, the legs 14 and 15 terminating in outwardly extending flange portions 16 and 17 respectively. In operation, the flange portions 16 and 17 are adapted to engage the inwardly turned flange portions 19 and 20 of the molding 21.

The fastener 10 is fabricated from material such as aluminum, sheet steel or the like which is sufficiently resilient to permit the legs 14 and 15 to be urged inwardly toward one another in order to permit the flanges 16 and 17 to pass over the inwardly turned flanges 19 and 20, the legs of the fastener retaining suflicient resiliency to be forced outwardly so that the individual flange areas of the fastener and of the molding are placed in firm engagement, one with another. In this manner, the fastener 10 will be appropriately mounted on the face of the nosing 21. Each of the legs 14 and 15 is provided with a hemispherical or arcuate struck-out portion as at 23 and 24 in order to define a pair of resilient locking tabs 25 and 26. In the center portion of the tabs 25 and 26, a rectangular cut-out is provided as at 28 and 29, this cut-out area being adapted for example to receive the swaged shank portion of the display retainer 11. Inasmuch as the material of the fastener 10 is resilient, the individual locking tabs or ears 25 and 26 will be in locking engagement with the shank portion of the display retainer 11. While the individual cut-out areas 28 and 29 are preferably arranged in vertically aligned relationship, it will be appreciated that the individual holes may be arranged at any desired position with respect to one another in order to facilitate the grasping or locking of the shank portion of the display retainer therein.

The display retainer is fabricated from a wire or the like, and has shank portion 30, a body portion 31 and a display receiving portion 32. It will be appreciated that the display receiving portion 32 may be in any desired form, such as illustrated in FIGURE 1, the requirements being dictated substantially entirely by the nature of the material being displayed. In this connection a helical spring wherein the individual helices are in closely abutting relationship may be utilized to hold any of a number of or variety of displays. The body portion 31 is preferably deformable, and when any unusual configuration is desired, the retainer body may be bent to the desired form as indicated by the display requirements.

The individual locking ears have a base of substantial length, thus providing a required degree of resiliency to the individual locking ears, and thereby providing firm engagement of the shank of the display retainer therein. In addition, the tabs are preferably elongated in order that the cut-out holes 28 and 29 are provided with a sufiicient canting action or moment for firmly locking against the display retainer 11.

The fasteners 10 may be fabricated in any desired size, the size and strength of the fastener being determined by the nature of the material being displayed. In other words, a heavier gauge material may be utilized in order to support extremely heavy loads, when the display requirements so indicate.

In operation, the merchandiser selects the appropriate fastener and display retainer combination. The locking ears or tabs 25 and 26 are then depressed in order to permit the cut-out holes 28 and 29 to define a continuous channel for receiving the shank portion 30 of the wire display retainer 11. The shank portion 30 of the retainer 11 is then inserted in the channel area, and the locking tabs or ears 25 and 26 are then released. Thereafter, the individual legs 14 and 15 are pressed together, and the flanges 16 and 17 are caused to pass in back of the mating flanges 19 and 20 of the molding member 21. Subsequently, the body portion 31 of the display retainer may be formed, as desired, to the requirements of the material being displayed, and the display material may then mount on the display-receiving member 32. The operation is then complete.

It will be appreciated that the display receiving member 32 may be adapted to hold written material such as catalogs, brochures, and the like, as well as merchandise. The rigidity of the display retainer 11 is merely designed to match the requirements of the individual display.

The fastener of the present invention is accordingly adapted to be received within the confines of any of the normally utilized nose moldings. The fastener is further designed to independently hold, receive, and retain a display retainer in locking engagement therewith, the design of the display retainer being independent of the configuration of the nose molding and the spacing available between the individual flanges 19 and 20'.

While one embodiment of my invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and this embodiment has been described in the foregoing specification, it will be appreciated that the embodiment disclosed is given only for the purpose of illustrating the invention and is not to be otherwise construed as a limitation on the scope of the present invention. It will be understood that the invnetion may take other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a support for a display holder, fastener means comprising a substantially resilient U shaped channel body adapted to be releasably secured to a nose molding and having a base portion and a pair of substantially parallelly disposed leg portions extending therefrom, means defining a substantially resilient locking tab arranged along each of said legs, each of said locking tabs being adapted to be bent out of the plane of said legs and having an opening therein for receiving a display holder, the openings being arranged in substantially vertically aligned relationship along said legs to define a display holder receiving channel extending therethrough, whereby the edge surfaces of said openings may frictionally engage said display holder along a portion of the length thereof.

2. In combination with a substantially non-resilient display holder having an elongated body with a shank portion adjacent one end thereof, a fastener for said display holder, said fastener comprising a substantially U shaped channel body adapted to be releasably secured to a nose molding and having a base portion and a pair of substantially parallelly disposed leg portions extending therefrom, means defining a substantially resilient locking tab arranged along each of said legs, each of said locking tabs having an opening therein for receiving a display holder, the openings being arranged in substantially vertically aligned relationship along said legs to define a display holder receiving channel extending therethrough, whereby the edge surfaces of said opening may frictionally engage said holder along said shank portion thereof.

3. The display holder combination as defined in claim 2 being particularly characterized in that the openings in said locking tabs are substantially superimposed, one over the other, and arranged along an axis which is substantially normal to the axis of said channel body.

4. The display holder combination as defined in claim 2 being particularly characterized in that the said shank portion has a substantially rectangular cross section, the cross section defined by the openings in said locking tabs being geometrically similar to the cross section of said shank portion.

5. In combination with a substantially non-resilient display holder having an elongated body with a shank portion adjacent one end thereof and a display retaining portion spaced from said shank portion, a fastener for said display holder, said fastener comprising a substantially U shaped channel body adapted to be releasably secured to a nose molding and having a base portion and a pair of substantially parallelly disposed leg portions extending therefrom, means defining a substantially resilient locking tab arranged along each of said legs, each of said locking tabs having an opening therein for receiving a display holder, the openings being arranged in substantially vertically aligned relationship along said legs to define a display holder receiving channel extending therethrough, whereby the edge surfaces of said opening may frictionally engage said display holder along a portion of the length thereof.

6. The display holder combination as defined in claim 5 being particularly characterized in that the locking tabs are arranged to be bent outwardly from the plane of the legs, and receive said shank portion of said elongated body at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the shank.

7. In a support for a display holder, fastener means comprising a substantially U shaped channel body adapted to be releasably secured to a nose molding and having a substantially flat bottom wall and a pair of resilient and deformable side Walls terminating in outwardly extending flange portions, means defining a substantially resilient locking tab arranged along each of said legs, each of said locking tabs having an opening therein for receiving a display holder, the openings being arranged in substantially Vertically aligned relationship along said legs to define a display holder receiving channel extending therethrough whereby the edge surfaces of said opening may frictionally engage said display holder along a portion of the length thereof.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,846,171 8/58 Kronhaus 248-4l0 2,859,546 11/58 Gutterson 40-10 3,015,177 1/62 Hembd et al 258-223 3,084,463 4/63 Guyer et al 40-11 3,094,305 6/63 Lohrman 248225 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A SUPPORT FOR A DISPLAY HOLDER, FASTENER MEANS COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY RESILIENT "U" SHAPED CHANNEL BODY ADAPTED TO BE RELEASABLY SECURED TO A NOSE MOLDING AND HAVING A BASE PORTION AND A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELLY DISPOSED LEG PORTIONS EXTENDING THEREFROM, MEANS DEFINING A SUBSTANTIALLY RESILIENT LOCKING TAB ARRANGED ALONG EACH OF SAID LEGS, EACH OF SAID LOCKING TAB ARBEING ADAPTED TO BE BENT OUT OF THE PLANE OF SAID LEGS AND HVING AN OPENING THEREIN FOR RECEIVING A DISPLAY HOLDER, THE OPENINGS BEING ARRANGED IN SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY ALIGNED RALATIONSHIP ALONG SAID LEGS TO DEFINE A DISPLAY HOLDER RECEIVING CHANNEL EXTENDING THERETHROUGH, WHEREBY THE EDGE SURFACES OF SAID OPENINGS MAY FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE SAID DISPLAY HOLDER ALONG A PORTION OF THE LENGTH THEREOF. 